Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball will miss the remainder of the 2022-23 season after breaking his ankle on Monday against the Detroit Pistons, sources told The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Ball he appeared to suffer the injury on a no-contact play in the third quarter when he planted his right foot while dribbling. He was taken out of the game and didn’t come back.
The 21-year-old has been hampered by ankle issues all season, limiting him to just 36 games in his junior year. After spraining his left ankle in Charlotte’s penultimate preseason game, LaMelo did not make his season debut until November 12, missing the Hornets’ first 13 games.
In his third game of the season, he sprained the same ankle in a freak play when he stepped on the foot of a fan sitting courtside late in the fourth quarter of a home loss to the Indiana Pacers. That ailment caused him to miss the next 11 games for a month.
Charlotte sin LaMelo Ball
During both extended absences, Charlotte went a combined 6-18 without the former Rookie of the Year in the lineup. The Hornets currently possess the fourth-worst record in the league at 20-43 and are on pace to have the second-best odds (12.5%) of getting the first pick in this year’s lottery draft. The teams with the three worst records share the best probability with 14% each.
LaMelo Ball averaged career-highs in points and assists this season at 23.3 and 8.4, respectively, adding 6.4 rebounds per game and shooting 37.6% from beyond the arc.
